Garbanzo Beans with Spinach and Spices

One of my favorite quick-and-easy recipes -- very low-fat and nutritious!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
2 T canola oil
2 T ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like it spicy)
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 10-oz package frozen spinach
2 tsp garam masala (Indian spice blend)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1. Saute the onion and garlic in the canola oil over medium heat until translucent.
2. Stir in the cumin, coriander, tumeric, and cayenne and heat for one minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and simmer five minutes.
4. Add the garbanzo beans and simmer five minutes.
5. Add the spinach and simmer until fully thawed. Stir it in.
6. Add the garam masala and salt to taste. Simmer a few more minutes and taste to adjust seasonings.

Serve over brown rice cooked with a little tumeric in the water for yellow coloring.
Optional: If you make it spicy, serve with plain nonfat yogurt on the side.

Sitting Up!

My baby girl can sit up by herself . . . she's growing up so fast! We're just a week and a half shy of her 6-month birthday, when she'll start solid foods. We'll start with vegetables and then fruits, in lieu of the traditional rice cereal which I'm hoping to skip altogether. I think early cereals will include oatmeal and quinoa, pending a little more research.

My current plan, assuming our pediatrician approves it, is to start with avocado, then sweet potatoes, carrots, green peas, bananas, pumpkin, and squash (heavy on the autumn harvest). I'm pretty excited and think it will be lots of fun for both of us!